While Others Followed Orders
by Lux's Sister
Summary: Some followed their conscience. In an AU where Ahsoka didn't go to Raxus and the Bonteris didn't die, a mission leaves Ahsoka at the mercy of a ruthless commander. Her guard, unable to stand by and let her die, takes drastic action. On his choice, hangs the fate of the galaxy and of his family.
1. Explanation of the AU

**WHILE OTHERS FOLLOWED ORDERS**

 **By Lux's Sister**

Rated T for impending torture and mentions of war crimes.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Clone Wars. All I own are my OCs John, Cooper, Tor, Sue, and Sierra. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter or POV belong to whomever I cite as their source, but most importantly: they don't belong to me.

 **EXPLANATION OF THE AU**

The following story is an AU where Ahsoka didn't go to Raxus.

The events of Heroes on Both Sides occurred when Padme went to Raxus by herself. Ahsoka took her as far as Mandalore, then turned around and went back to Coruscant to cover for the senator. While on Raxus, Padme was over the moon to see Mina and her husband John again. The kids, Lux (16) and Sierra (12), were at boarding school.

After HOBS, Dooku considered killing the family, but he reconsidered. John Bonteri is a skilled tactician and is an asset to the military, but he is largely driven by Mina. Lux's lust for revenge can potentially be manipulated to his cause, but he will wither without his sister. So, Dooku came up with a different plan to protect his assets.

Dooku told Lux and Sierra that Republic troops had killed their parents. John and Mina were then told a Jedi had killed their children, and John's position was transferred to a secluded prison on Aargonar. He currently holds the rank of Sergeant, and works in the cells. Since the loss of her Senate position, Mina currently works for the government from home.

Lux and Sierra, however, have a much different story. Lux didn't believe Dooku's story and found electronic files for the original plot to kill Mina and John. He and his sister ran away from boarding school, thinking they would be next, and sought shelter with their family friend Padme. This is how Lux and Ahsoka met. And because Lux thinks his parents are gone, "A Friend In Need" and the Onderon Arc played out as seen on TV.

Eventually, due to eavesdropping at John's workplace and the Onderon rebellion, John and Mina discovered their kids were indeed alive. However, it was far too dangerous to go looking for them at the time. They needed to wait for when it was right.

This story is set five months after the Onderon Arc but before the Fugitive Arc.

The Force still has plans for Mina, John, and a young girl.

Now, without further ado, I present "While Others Followed Orders".


	2. The Bystander Effect

**CHAPTER ONE: THE BYSTANDER EFFECT**

" _If I succeed, they will call me a traitor to Germany. If I fail, I will be a traitor to my own conscience."_

 _-Claus Von Stauffenberg_

"' _You aren't my daddy.'_

' _I know I'm not. But I'm going to take care of you.'"_

 _-the last words of a child who died in the 1944 Hartford circus fire, and her rescuer's response. (Retrieved from "The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American Tragedy" by Stewart O'Nan)_

She's cold and everything hurts. Normally, this would have been a minor issue; Ahsoka would have pressed on until she couldn't anymore, and then she would have contacted her master or Rex to come get her. But this time was different.

It had looked so much like fog when it bore down on her, but just a whiff of the white cloud was enough to convince even the greatest denier that it wasn't, and Ahsoka was in serious trouble. She'd taken off running as fast as she could while the gas slowly invaded her lungs. Trying to find some end to the white nightmare. Trying to find her men.

But eventually, the gas won. She'd collapsed onto the rock she now leaned against, reduced to a shaking heap and praying one of her men would find her.

"Well, what do we have here?"

Someone knelt in front of her, none too gently grabbing her shoulders and holding her in front of them.

"Hello there," the stranger taunted, lifting her chin. "Cooper! I need some help over here."

"Oh, she doesn't look too good." A new voice said, more hesitant than the first. "Guess that makes our job a little easier."

"Yes it does. Gotta love that gas." The first crowed, grabbing Ahsoka around the waist. "All right, Jedi. You're coming with me."

She tried to scream, but only managed a terrified whimper. The stranger hoisted her into his arms, and then she was being taken away.

"Cooper, I need a break."

"D-Doesn't policy state that whoever takes the credit for her, brings her in?"

"I'm your superior! Take the brat for a minute."

There was a sigh, then she was transferred to someone else. Her carrier draped her over his shoulder and took a couple of steps.

She writhed from the discomfort of blood rushing to her head, and her carrier's hands slipped. Her head cracked against the ground, making her thoughts even fuzzier than before. Her carrier swore.

"Rats!" he grumbled as he examined her head. "That might be a concussion."

"For Force's sake, Cooper!"

"If it's so easy, you do it." He mumbled.

"I heard that, soldier!" the first man snapped, shoved Cooper aside, then scooped Ahsoka up again.

"If you're causing me so much trouble, you'd better be good when we get back to base," he hissed, his breath hot on her ear.

 _MASTER! Rex, Fives, Jesse, Master Kenobi…anybody. Please help me…_

…..

As soon as he walks in the door, John Bonteri's military jacket takes up residency in the corner of the utility room.

His wife Mina closes her eyes for a second. John takes good care of his uniform, for him to throw it like that means something's up. "Bad day at work?" she asks.

John sighs and takes a seat at the dinner table. "You have no idea."

"Try me."

He takes a deep breath. "After the gas launch, Tor brought in a prisoner."

Mina walks back over to the coffee maker and starts it up. She has a feeling John's going to need it. Her husband sighs. "It was a Jedi. A young one."

"How young?"

"Sixteen. Maybe. She's a tiny little thing." He presses his hands to his forehead. "They're going to interrogate her when she's able to speak."

Mina turns to face him. "She can't speak? Is she hurt?"

"Yes," John takes a deep, shuddering breath. "She's sick from the gas attack, mostly unconscious and very weak and dazed when they got her to wake up. Tor thinks she has information about the Republic's battle plans, but if they do anything to her she'll die. Anyway, she can't speak even if she wanted to."

"Sickbay will take care of her until she's well." Mina lies. The sickbay at the base would keep the kid alive until she could speak, and then hand her over to the "interrogation staff." From then on, her fate was up in the air.

"There isn't an antidote for the gas, it has to run its course." John says. "They've tossed her in a cell and left her there until she wakes up.

"They, um, they put me on guard duty." He finishes.

Oh. That explains it.

Mina sets the cup of coffee in front of John before taking a seat next to her husband. John continues. "The heating system in the cell block is broken. I swear, it's below freezing. The kid's hanging in there, but the cold's not helping at all."

He wraps his hands around the mug. "I tried to fix it, but it just blasted her with cold air and made it worse."

"Is she going to be all right?"

John meets his wife's eyes. "Even if they don't torture her, her health is failing. She's a Jedi _,_ and she's _crying._ Mina, every time I look at her I can't stop thinking about the kids."

Mina Bonteri isn't a former senator for nothing. An idea pops into her head.

"What if it was Lux or Sierra?"

"What?"

She looks John in the eyes. "What if Lux or Sierra was brought to a Republic prison and died because they weren't cared for?

John brings a mental picture of the young Jedi to his mind's eye and swaps her face out with his children's. The pale beads of cold sweat spotting the girl's forehead now plaster Lux's hair to his face; it's his daughter's voice crying out in pain as she's wrenched to her feet.

He stares forward. "I don't like Jedi, but this one's just a little kid. She's crying her eyes out."

"Well, what have you done about it?"

John remembers in that moment exactly how much he loves his wife. "I asked Cooper to fix the heater. He said he'd try. After all, we have to keep her alive. In the morning I was going to see to it that she gets some nutrition."

"All right, that's a good start," Mina says. "You're a good man, John Bonteri. Remember that."

John squeezes the mug so hard, he's afraid it might crack. "They won't hurt her. I won't let them."

Mina is silent for a long time. Only when the coffee goes cold does she speak.

"I won't either."

 **JOHN**

The turbolift at work runs notoriously slow. You'd think the Separatist Alliance could pony up some more money to pay for better elevators, but when I brought up the subject with Mina, she went ape. So I've learned just to take a nice deep breath and play some mindless cell phone game while in the elevator.

I've gotten to the second level on Zombies Four when the doors open and Cooper walks in, holding a blanket.

"I tried," he says, "It didn't work. The fans worked fine, but the actual temperature didn't go up. That's why I've got this." He gestures to the blanket.

"How is she?" I ask, even though my mind is screaming _you didn't give her a blanket until now? My Force Cooper, don't you know anything about kids?_

He winces "I didn't think she could get worse, but she did. The little one's fading fast." He sighs. "We've got to get her to talk."

The turbolift grinds to a halt and drops us off at the detention level. Cooper and I walk over to the girl's cell and deactivate the door.

The young Jedi lies curled in a ball in the corner, shivering violently.

"Has she been this bad all night?" I ask, rushing to her side and rubbing her back.

"No, not until recently" He walks over to us, kneels, and shakes the girl. "Wake up, little Jedi."

Unnecessary. Who could sleep in this cold? Her eyes flutter half-open. They're a pretty blue but now they're cloudy and unfocused, from illness or cold I'm not sure.

"Hello, child." I croon, grabbing the blanket from Cooper's hands and wrapping her shivering body in it. She wants to stay away from me, that much is obvious, but when the fabric wraps around her she instinctively snuggles in.

"Feeling better, sweetheart?" I peel off my jacket and bundle her in that too before settling her next to me.

She doesn't respond verbally, but she winces. _Oh no. Not now…_

"Have you fed her? That might build some trust. And what about the fits?" I ask.

Cooper nods. "Just some water. Tor said nothing else. And no, the fits haven't started yet."

 _Thank Force._ "All right, Cooper. I'll take over from here, you head home."

"See you later, John." He says to me, and tweaks the girl's nose as a sort of goodbye to her.

I wrap my arm around the girl's shoulder once he's gone. "Cooper's got a good heart. He tried to take care of you." I say.

If anybody asks me what I'm doing, I'll say building trust, a standard tactic to get a prisoner to talk in interrogation. But for the second point...Well, not really. Cooper's kind of a pushover.

She shivers violently under the blanket.

The temperature change in the cell has me newly worried. It's even colder in here than in the hall, and I'm in a heavy uniform. For a sick person wearing warm-weather clothing to be in here, I'm surprised she hasn't already succumbed. Cooper's right, she is fading fast.

Maybe I can get her moved to sickbay. After all, she is sick.

Commander Torrance would never allow it. But then again dead men tell no tales, even if you torture them.

"Okay kid, I'll be right back. I'm going to see if I can get you somewhere warm." I say. "Close your eyes and go back to sleep."

She shudders again and whimpers "Master,"

I freeze solid. Then just to make sure this actually happened and feeling like a horrible creature who crawled out of some dark hole, I slap her across the face. Hard.

"No! Stop! Get away from me!" she sobs, clutching her blanket around herself.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. But I had to." I apologize and pat her on the shoulder.

She flinches at my touch. _"ANAKIN!"_

Done are the soft whimpers and from this one. Her scream echoes through the cell. I only have one response.

 _Please Force, if you answer prayers then mute the others' ears so they don't rat her out!_

The door swooshes open, revealing a horrified private.

I open my mouth, but my throat is dry.

"Run," the private whispers.

 _What?_

"Run," he repeats. "Please, sir. Commander Tor heard it. He's ordering an interrogation room prepped. Take her and run!"

He pushes the girl into my lap, pulls the both of us to my feet. I grab her so she doesn't fall, pressing her face into my shoulder to muffle her sounds of protest.

"What?" I ask. "Why?"

He shakes his head. "I had to watch her when Cooper was gone, and I thought my heart was going to break."

Taking the criminally slow elevator is ridiculous, but there's no way to get to the stairs without passing Tor's office. Looks like it's my only option. Considering my hands are full, the private hits the call button for me. As the elevator comes, I turn to him.

"You need to get out of here."

"But sir-!"

"That's an order, private. If this goes south, someone needs to run interference. _Go!"_

The private bolts and gets down the hall just as the elevator doors open.

I freeze.

Standing in the elevator, is Commander Peter David Torrance. Better known as Tor.

He smiles. "Seems you're a step ahead of me, John."

 _Current options: Punch him in the face, kill him, or play along. I'm going to play along._

"Yes," I fake-smile and step into the elevator. "I like to stay on top of things, sir."

Tor looks with disgust at the girl. "Now as for you, Ahsoka, I wonder just how long you've been talking and not letting us know."

 _Ahsoka? Is that her name? Where have I heard that before?_ "She's been very quiet until just now, sir."

Tor reaches for Ahsoka and it takes all my willpower not to jump back. He grabs first my jacket, and pulls it loose.

"John, you're supposed to be wearing this, not dressing her up like a child's doll. And seriously," he takes a fistful of the blanket, and pulls. "Are you trying to sweat the kid out? Why is this blanket… _let go, Jedi!"_ Ahsoka has balled her hands into fists, holding the blanket tight. Tor is not impressed.

"Give her to me." He orders, holding out his arms.

 _Yeah, how about no?_ But I hand her over. Apparently sensing the transfer, she shrieks and clutches my shirt.

"Well, he seems to have grown on you!" Tor grunts, tugging her.

"Sir, maybe it would be better if I carried her. She knows me." I try. As if on cue Ahsoka presses herself against my chest.

"Not a chance, John. She's mine. Now get her to let go!"

Gently as possible, I ease the fabric out of her grip, and Tor pulls her away. She screams.

"No, I won't go back there!"

"Oh, you're not," Tor chuckles, squeezing her so hard she coughs. The elevator dings, and he leads the way out. "You and I are going to have a talk, Ahsoka Tano. About the Republic."

 _Ahsoka Tano? As in, Anakin Skywalker's apprentice!_

"Sir, I should return to my duties," I deadpan, and set off for the service stairs.

Our building does not have public holo comms and I don't want my personal one to be traced, so I stop in front of Celebrity Gossip Addict's cubicle and pop my head in with a huge, excited smile.

"Guess what! Jym Jardashian just came in with her son, South East, and they're meeting people in the break room!"

Celebrity Gossip Addict runs off screaming "Where?" and I grab his desk phone. First, I call Mina.

"Mina, if someone captured a high-profile Jedi, what are the diplomatic procedures?"

" _Well…it depends on who the Jedi is."_

"Okay. Let's say, hypothetically, it was the padawan of Anakin Skywalker."

" _What? John, I want an explanation!"_

"Um, this is a hypothetical situation."

Mina sighs. _"Fine. If Ahsoka Tano was captured, the authorities would need proof of life. Considering how high-status she is, they'd probably have to see her in the flesh."_

"Okay. How soon can you get to the courthouse?"

" _What is going on?"_

"I'll fill you in as we go, Mina. Just head for the courthouse. Thank you, I love you, you're the best." I hang up before she can ask any more questions. Then, I dial for the interrogation room.

Tor picks up the phone. _"Interrogation. Commander Torrance speaking."_

"Yes, hello." I say in a nasally voice. "This is…Ronald McDonald from the courthouse. We're calling to remind you of your appointment to bring in Ahsoka Tano for proof of life."

" _I don't remember setting up a proof of life appointment."_

"Yes, but you know how those Senators are. Always the impatient ones."

Tor swears. _"Get this over with, fast. I'm a busy man. I'll have her over in twenty minutes."_

"All right, make sure to bring a guard with her. We'll have someone meet you up front to fix her up for the holo." I say, and Tor hangs up.

I pick the phone back up, and call Mina with the rest of the plan.

 **MINA**

John's master plan had better be good, for all I'm dealing with.

When Tor pulls into the parking lot (cutting off a school bus and a pizza delivery driver in the process), he slammed his car doors and dragged, by the shirt collar, a young girl.

I recognized her, of course. Very few wouldn't. But the look of terror and pain on her face as she stumbled along…that wasn't familiar.

And it's not okay, either. I did not join the Confederacy of Independent Systems to watch soldiers mistreat little girls. Even if they are Jedi.

"Hello, Commander," I greet him, jogging into the parking lot so the girl doesn't have to stumble as far. "I see you've brought our guest."

And in an instant, Tor's demeanor changes. He stops dragging Ahsoka, and instead slips an arm around her waist and picks her up. A very convincing smile plasters itself on his face, and his manner toward the girl becomes chiding versus malevolent.

"Yes," he says cheerily, apparently not recognizing me in jeans, my glasses instead of contact lenses, and without any makeup on. _Why John picked that exact moment to call me, I'll never know. I barely recognize myself._

"If you'll just take a seat, I'll be taking Ahsoka here to be cleaned up. May I ask where the guard is?" I lie, grabbing Ahsoka's arm.

But Tor doesn't let her go. "Now, now, now. You'll be back with us again soon, little Jedi."

She flinches, and it takes all my willpower not to put myself between the two.

 _Give me the girl, Tor, or the police will never find your remains._

Tor chuckles, running a knuckle down Ahsoka's cheek. "Don't worry, she likes her guard. Still getting used to me, though. The guard's en route. I'll send him after you."

 _John, of all times you decided to be late…_

But I smile, more or less yank the girl out of Tor's grip, and lead her away. As soon as we're out of sight, I sit her down in a chair.

"My goodness, you're an ice cube!" I exclaim, settling her by my side. "Just hold on for a few more minutes, until my husband gets here. Remember him? Your guard?"

Ahsoka decides not to respond, and to instead curl into a ball next to me. I rub her back to calm her down.

"I'm sorry, honey." My voice cracks, and I pull her close. "I'm so sorry!"

John arrives a few minutes later, holding Ahsoka's blanket. "Thank goodness you have her," he mutters, bundling her up tight.

"What's the plan?" I ask.

John secures the blankets with a quick tuck. "Okay. So the plan is that you're a Republic spy who's taken her, and I went down heroically fighting you."

"Honestly, I think Lux could think up a better plan than that." I reply.

"I know, but it's all we have."

POP!

"AH! What was that for?" John cries, hands flying to his newly bloody nose.

I raise my fists. "John, if you say you've gotten into a fight, it actually has to look like you got into a fight. I'm very sorry. Anyway, how were you going to pull that story off?"

"Like _this!"_

He pulls out his Taser, and my poor husband stuns himself.

"…Oh. I love you," I apologize to his twitching body, then grab Ahsoka and head for the back door. By a miracle of the Force, I get into my car and out of the parking lot without incident.

At the house, I shut the garage door behind us, then open the back seat door, to find that she has kicked out of her swaddle.

"Master, help me!" she shrieks, flailing wildly while tears run down her cheeks.

"Don't cry," I beg, picking her up. I rush down the hallway and tuck her into one of the spare beds after pulling her shoes off. "It's all right love. Go to sleep. You're safe now."

"Let me go. Please don't hurt me." She sobs in a voice that breaks my heart. A Jedi, one of the galaxy's greatest warriors, reduced to begging for mercy. She's even more terrified than the day we discovered Lux's paralyzing fear of puppets.

"Nobody's going to hurt you. I'll protect you." I soothe, and pull her into my arms. For some reason she doesn't cry. Instead she snuggles up against me. _Can't Jedi sense the truth with the Force? That must be what's going on. Or maybe it's just my body heat._

 _Force, I don't care. She trusts me. Marginally._

Her skin is pale and chapped from cold, pockmarked with cuts and bruises where there should be the soft glow of health.

"I love you," I croon. Even if I don't mean it she needs to hear it, and I give her a little kiss to drive the point home.

 _"Nooooo!"_

"Okay, that's enough of that, Mina." I mutter to myself.

John comes home at five when his shift ends. I have to admit, he doesn't look too perky after stunning himself.

"Absolute silence. She needs to rest." I whisper.

"Okay. Where'd you put her?" John whispers.

"The extra room. Get some extra blankets. She's still too cold."

While John disappears, I stay by Ahsoka's side.

"Are you warming up, my dear?" I reach to examine the bump on her head and she winces. "Oh, that must hurt. I'll put some ice on it when you're comfortable."

"Mina, are the blankets by the couch OK?" John yells at a volume comparable to a ship engine.

Before I can say or do anything, the girl stiffens and begins to cry again.

 _I love my husband…_

"Yes John, the blankets by the couch are-."

 _"Master!"_ Ahsoka wails.

John stands in the doorway with said blankets. "Oops. Sorry." He says sheepishly.

"You'd better have a _very_ good way to get her back to sleep."

John snaps his fingers. "I know! That stunner worked well on me." He says sarcastically.

 _Think back to the reasons why you married John, Mina. Remember why you married him._

"NO."

"Okay, um…my mom always made me drink tea when I was sick." He deadpans. "I'll go make her some in a minute."

"Make sure you get a spoon. She can't drink on her own." I say, then redirect my attention to her. "Don't cry. It'll be better if you go back to sleep." _And you will also guarantee that John lives to see the morning._

She sobs quietly, then I watch as her face crunches in pain. _"Dad!"_ She screams, jerking away.

"It's alright! It's alright!"

John sighs. "Okay…if I remember this correctly, she won't wake up for good for a while. She'll be like this until that happens. When she does wake up, she'll feel weak and dizzy. But beginning any minute now, she's going to have fits."

"Fits. Define."

"Attacks of excruciating pain. There's nothing we can do about it. Keeping her calm will help a little, but otherwise, our hands are tied."

I sigh and start to spread healing ointment onto the cuts pockmarking Ahsoka's face. She weakly slaps at my arms.

"No, no, no, no!"

John catches her wrists. "Sweet pea, please calm down…"

"Who did this to her? Who hurt her so much that I can't tend to her without tears?" I ask.

John shakes his head. "If I ever get the chance to get Tor fired…"

"Tor did this in interrogation?" I demand, snapping the ointment tube closed.

"Not in interrogation. In her cell, while I wasn't with her."

"This is brutality to a prisoner. I don't care what side she's on. She's a child!"

He sighs. "I know. But it's over now, doesn't she know that?"

I give him a look. "John, she's terrified.She's screaming for her master." I whisper as I stroke the young Jedi's forehead, ignoring her jerk of shock. "Calm down, love. You're safe now. Tor's gone. And he is _never_ going to hurt you again."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Yes, actually. Make her comfortable till we can do more." I watch as Ahsoka's face relaxes.

John bites his lip. "You seem to have a knack for that. Kid hasn't been like this since I found her."

"I'm a mother, John. It's instinct."

ANAKIN

Where is she?

Oh my dear force, where is she?

I've commed Ahsoka several times. I don't know why she's not answering. Once Torrent Company got wind that she was missing, they took to the battlefield again, combing every square inch of it. They're not looking for their commander. They're searching for their sister.

But it's been a day. I'll let you calculate the odds.

Every so often, I hear a cry of "Commander!" or the even more heart-shattering: "Cissy!"

That's what my men call my padawan when they think others aren't around.

 _Master? Are you there?_

The bond rings in my head, Ahsoka's message loud and clear. I jump on it. **Snips! Where the force are you?** I reach into the bond, feeling for her presence. It's far away, carefully hidden. Small, fragile, vulnerable…a child. A terrified child, clinging to her bond and her master. That can only mean one thing. **What's wrong with you?**

 _Somebody has me, master. I don't know where I am. I can't wake up. I need you!_

 **Drugged.** I seethe. **Those monsters drugged you! Force, when I get my hands on them- don't worry. I'll be there soon. Try to move. It'll help you wake up.**

 __ _Okay,_ she pauses, and a few seconds later a wave of her pain murders my mind. _DADDY!_

 _"It's alright! It's alright!"_ A woman pleads from Ahsoka's side of the bond. 

**Ahsoka, I'm hearing a person. You need to focus on what they're saying and I might be able to figure out where you are.** I order.

 _I know. I'm trying, it hurts so much._ She whimpers. But she manages to bring the words into a blurry focus.

 _"Calm down, child. You're safe now. Tor's gone, and he's never going to hurt you again."_ The same woman says. She does something-I can't tell what- that comforts Ahsoka, just a bit. It helps her focus and brings her back to me. Whatever that woman did for her, I will be forever grateful.

 **Okay, Snips? I don't think there's anything malignant right here. If you even start to think that you may be in danger, contact me immediately. I'm looking for you, and so are all the clones. They want their Sissy back. Force only knows how many tears will be shed when they watch "Family Affair" tonight. So you focus on getting better, and I'll find you soon. Okay?**

 _Okay. I love you._ Ahsoka says and closes the bond.

The signatures I sensed around Ahsoka are careful and quiet, but they remind me of someone: Lux Bonteri. As long as Death Watch isn't involved he wouldn't hurt Ahsoka, ever. I can just hope these people will do the same.

But Ahsoka Tano, like every teenager who ever lived, will never, unless under extreme duress, breathe the words "I love you" to a family member. If the phrase is spoken, you can be assured one of three things has happened. 1. The child is severely injured or ill. 2. The child is scared out of their mind. 3. Your lottery ticket has been announced as the big winner, everyone who wronged you in high school apologizes on hands and knees, and you've magically stopped aging at 30.

In my case, it's everything but Three.

 **(A/N: So, that's Chapter One! This story was inspired by the mindset of the conspirators of the 20 July Plot, and the actions of Paul Rusesabagina during the Rwandan genocide. Also, Ahsoka is really OOC in this chapter. This is because she's so sick.**

 **So, how was this? This is my first fanfic, and I would love some feedback. Constructive criticism is great, but flames are for campfires and toasting marshmallows.)**


	3. Altrusim

**CHAPTER 2- ALTRUISM**

" _This is why I believe that the individual's most potent weapon is a stubborn belief in the triumph of common decency."_

 _-Paul Rusesabagina, who saved the lives of 1268 Tutsis during the Rwandan genocide_

 **AHSOKA**

"Mina, I've got news!" a man's voice booms. "Big news!"

"I don't care who won the finals. And be _quiet._ " an exasperated, tired-sounding voice replies.

"Actually, somebody's kicking at her blankets, and she's not crying for her parents. I think she's waking up."

"Do you want me to-?"

"I can handle it. You get some rest."

Sounds pervade the fog around my brain, getting louder and sharper. Someone pulls a heavy duvet up to my chin, and adjusts blankets wrapped tightly around my body, almost restricting my movement.

The memories come back in a flash.

 _Tossed from one pair of arms to another, taken to a cold room, shivering, beaten, threatened, slapped and soon to be tortured…_

 _Someone is with me at all times. Saying sweet things, reassurances. He zips me into a coat, wraps me in a blanket, he even takes the time to spoon feed me and hold me close when I won't stop shivering._

 _A guard. Albeit an unusually caring one, but still a guard._

 _I'VE BEEN CAPTURED!_

I open my eyes. It doesn't look like I'm in a prison. More than anything, it looks like a private home. Sitting on the edge of the bed is a middle-aged, graying man. The guard. _Great. That does wonders for any hope of safety here._

He delicately lays a hand on my shoulder. "Easy!"

I scream something without words and wrench out of his grasp as I scramble away from him. Pumped with adrenaline, I put my feet on the floor; stand up.

A rush of pain murders my head.

"Mommy!" I cry instinctively, crumbling to the ground. _No, no, no! I'm a Jedi, for Force's sake! I can handle a little headache. And Jedi do not cry for their mommies!_

Strong arms grab me under my shoulders, catching me. "Upsy-daisy." The guard grunts as he lifts me back onto the bed, then holds me gently but securely by his side. "Too early to pull that stunt, kid."

Once I'm no longer suspended in the air I start squirming, squeezing my eyes shut in frustration. He holds me tight. But his grip is careful, delicate even, like I'm very fragile. It just doesn't add up. He could have killed me, but he put me in bed? He could have chained me up, but he gives me pajamas? _This doesn't make any sense! What is going on here?_

I manage a few fruitless kicks before my lungs go on strike and I'm coughing out air faster than I can breathe it in. The man adjusts his position, propping me against his shoulder while he pats my back to help me breathe.

"Take it easy." He says. I take a couple gasps of air and he stops patting my back.

"What do you want from me?" I ask plaintively. "P-please, let me go."

"It's all right, sweetie. Look at me, at least. I'm not going to hurt you."

It boils down to simple math: Person I don't know + pet name + strange environment=DANGER.

 _"Help! Somebody!"_ I scream, eyes popping open.

He clamps his hand over my mouth, still holding me tightly with one arm. "Please listen to me. I'm not gonna hurt you. Look at me, you're safe, but you have to be quiet, for your own sake. Don't cry, please don't cry…oh, I give up. _Mina! I need help!"_

Before I can get the air to scream again, a middle-aged woman with purple stencils on her arms bursts into the room. "What's going on? Oh, for the love of the Force, let her go. She's terrified! Is everybody okay?"

The man nods and releases me "She just got a little scared."

"No wonder, John. She doesn't know us." The woman responds. "Hello, dear. How do you feel?"

"Fine," I lie.

"Sure. That's why you're crying for your mother, isn't it?" she sits down on my left. _And now I'm boxed in! Great. Just great. I'm stuck here. Even if I somehow get away from John, she'll grab me._

"My name is Mina. This is my husband John. We found you a few days ago. You don't remember, do you?"

I shake my head no and begin another coughing fit. Mina pats my back like a concerned parent. "You've been exposed to some kind of nerve gas, that's why you're sick. But you weren't in my five-star hotel forever." The coughing subsides and she switches to rubbing my back in a circle. "You were found, captured, and taken to the base John works at."

"S-Separatist military?" I stammer. _Oh Force! This just keeps getting worse!_

"Yes, but no," John says.

"What?"

"You were badly mistreated." Mina says. "Kept in a cold room, dehydrated, plans to torture you. We rescued you. You were terrified, thinking we were going to hurt you, so I held you to calm you down and you fell asleep that way."

I fell asleep in her arms?

"I tucked you into bed and here you are. Now, if I'm correct, Ahsoka…"

"I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong person."

Mina chuckles. "If John and I wanted to turn you in, we'd have left you with them. We're not huge proponents for the Separatists, anyway. Not after what that monster Dooku did to our children." Her face hardens at Dooku's name. _Holy force, this explains why she's being so motherly. She's a real mom!_ "We aren't letting him take another child. Now, Ahsoka Tano, sixteen years old?"

If I can't stand up, then I'm completely at their mercy. They've got me figured out, anyway.

"Yes," I reply, taking a deep breath.

"All right," Mina says, gently squeezing my shoulders. "All right, Ahsoka."

 **JOHN**

Mina pulls me into the hallway so Ahsoka can calm down.

"What are we going to do? The guys at my work are going insane looking for her. _Especially_ Tor. We can't keep her here with us forever. And her master…if he thinks we've kidnapped her, we are so dead I don't even want to think about it."

"Don't worry," Mina says. "I'm going to feed her, and then we can contact Skywalker. But our first priority is getting something into her. She's parched."

I pour water into a glass, stick in a straw, and follow Mina into Ahsoka's bedroom. Ahsoka lies curled on her side, face crunched in a grimace. "Something's wrong," she says.

"Oh, why did I leave you alone after that panic attack?" Mina laments and sits on the edge of the bed. "Ahsoka, what's about to happen is going to hurt terribly. You can hug me, you can hug John, you can cry, you can do anything but please try not to scream. Nobody can know you're here."

"How terribly are we- _oh, force!"_ She sobs, biting her lip to keep from screaming. Mina scoops her up and Ahsoka holds onto her for dear life.

"Take a deep breath, Ahsoka." I suggest.

"Y-you were right."

"Shh," Mina says, rocking her a couple times.

Eventually, Ahsoka relaxes her grip. Mina checks her over. "All over, love?" Ahsoka nods. "Good. The plan was to give you something to eat, and then call your master. But I think instead, you need to go back to sleep.

Ahsoka sighs. "I don't have my comlink, anyway"

Mina walks over to the dresser and opens a drawer, removing the comlink and lightsabers. "John stole these from the evidence locker when he broke you out of jail."

"Thank you," Ahsoka says, pulling the nightgown tighter around her small frame. I retreat. If this goes anything like trying to feed her when she was out of it, then I do not want to be anywhere in the vicinity.

"John Bonteri, you big oaf. You can't feed a person?" Mina jokes.

"I epically failed back at the prison."

Mina chuckles. Ahsoka pulls back.

"Ahsoka, are you okay?" I ask, air of comedy completely gone.

"B-Bonteri? Your last name is Bonteri?" She asks.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" I say.

"Like Lux Bonteri?"

Silence falls. I look at her hopefully, still walking on eggshells after how badly I scared her.

"Ahsoka…Lux is our son."

Ahsoka yelps and raises her hands.

Just my luck. I've scared her every time a word comes out of my mouth.

"What's wrong? What is it?" Mina asks.

Ahsoka lifts both of us with the Force. "Who are you?" she barks.

"We're Lux's parents." Mina explains, kicking aimlessly. Ahsoka isn't choking us, just holding us aloft, but it's an uneasy feeling.

"Yeah, nice try! His parents are dead!" She snaps.

Mina clears her throat. "On top of the dresser," she says. "Is a holopad. On it are pictures of us with Lux and his sister up until two years ago. You can check to make sure they're not doctored. But first, you need to put us down or you're going to have another fit."

Ahsoka doesn't budge, so Mina swaps to Mom mode.

"Young lady, _I am serious_."

Ahsoka sets us down, still holding us at bay, and grabs the holopad. She shifts through the pictures, looking at Lux through the years. After about three minutes, she drops the holopad, and lets us go.

Mina very cautiously approaches her. "Did you see the one where Lux is crying at a puppet show?"

"I don't understand." Ahsoka whispers.

My wife gingerly takes a seat on the bed. "Let's start at the beginning. Do you know of Padme Amidala?"

Ahsoka nods. "She's my mother."

Mina blinks in surprise. "I was her mentor when she was growing up." She says. "We were very close to her. And now she has a daughter. Wonders never cease."

"I think that one is on par with finding out Lux has parents! You were supposed to have died."

"Back to the story," Mina interrupts. "Padme smuggled herself over to John's and my old home to negotiate a peace treaty. The Senate agreed, and we began to negotiate…and then everything went downhill. Dooku took our kids."

Unable to ignore the thumping of my heart, I squeeze my eyes shut. "Dooku told us that the Republic had killed our kids, but an old friend told Mina the truth. Lux and Sierra had been at boarding school, and Dooku told them we were dead."

"Oh, Lux thinks you're dead, all right." Ahsoka mutters.

"Is he your friend?" I ask.

Pause.

"Oh, I see how this is. Don't worry. We won't tell." Mina jokes. "Has he gone to our gravesite?"

"No," Ahsoka says, rolling her eyes. "He went on a crazy revenge campaign with me sitting shotgun."

Mina facepalms. "He's just like his father…"

"Hey, I heard that!"

Ahsoka laughs a tension-releasing laugh. "Yes…you two are definitely his parents."

"Good we have that straightened out, because you need to drink something." Mina reaches for the glass, holds it out, and Ahsoka drinks it down. "All right. Now lie back down and rest. We can talk again later."

"Wait,"

Ahsoka levitates her comlink to her hand and presses a sequence of numbers.

"Who is it?" I ask.

"My master." She bites her lip. "My dad. He's probably going berserk."

"Oh, we've heard about Daddy." I say. "You talked in your sleep."

Mina rubs her temples. "All right, hon. Then rest."

 **ANAKIN**

My evening at Padme's is completely unromantic.

Usually, we would have dinner together and catch up. I would tell her ancedotes of ship life, like how the clones marathoned "Family Affair" and to this day will not stop calling Ahsoka "Cissy" or me "Uncle Bill." She would tell me about Senate affairs, and her day-to-day life. We might watch the HoloNet, and then I would decide either spend the night or go back to the Temple and hang out with Ahsoka.

This evening, instead of talking about "Family Affair," Padme and I sit glued in front of the TV, not watching, but just staring at the sitcom. The thoughts of "I think this would be a funny story" are replaced by "Please force, let Ahsoka be okay."

 _She's with people. She's drugged or hurt, maybe both. I can't find her location. Just please, let her be all right._

My comlink rings. I ignore it. I don't care what Obi-Wan has to say right now. Right after my comm shuts off, Padme's rings. She sighs and grabs it. "I have to answer this. It's probably business. Hello?'"

 _"Hi, Mom!"_ A thin little voice cries.

Padme jumps in shock and turns on the speakerphone. "Ahsoka, where in blazes are you?

 _"Padme, is Anakin there?"_

"Yes, I am." I say, shoving my way to the speaker. "What happened to you?"

Cough. _"You know that gas the enemy's been using?"_

Flames ignite in my gut. Oh, if I were the person who invented the gas, I would go somewhere Padme and Anakin couldn't find me. "Yes."

 _"Well, that's what happened to me."_

"Snips, where are you? Who are you with?" I demand. "I'm coming to get you. Just hang on."

 _"No! You can't come. It's too dangerous, I'm still on the planet."_ Ahsoka says, punctuating her sentence with a soft cry.

"You're hurt! Just hang in there. I'll be there soon," I yell, grabbing my ship keys and coat. "Where exactly are you? Their base?"

 _"Uh, Master, this is kind of hard to explain. I'm not captive anymore."_

"So you're by yourself?" Padme asks.

 _"No, Padme. I was rescued…hang on, I'm going to turn the phone over."_

"No, Ahsoka-stay on the line!" No dice. There's the distinct sound of someone else taking the comm. I don't care. "Ahsoka, we will be doing some very difficult training if you don't get back on the line!"

 _"No, don't blame her. I made her give me the phone."_ A woman's voice says.

"You! You monster, what have you don't to my padawan?" I scream into the comm.

"Anakin, stop yelling!" Padme yells.

"Do you hear me? Oh, when I find her you'd better hope she's all right. I don't believe for a second you rescued her, you lying toad-."

 _"I would really appreciate it if you would stop yelling at my wife,"_ a dangerously quiet voice says.

"Anakin, let me talk." Padme orders in The Wife Voice.

Like most husbands who hear The Wife Voice, I fork over the phone. Padme clears her throat and says, very calmly. "Hello. This is Ahsoka's mother."

 _"Hello, Padme. Remember me?"_

Padme jumps a good foot in the air. "This is impossible. You're dead!"

 _"I had my reasons. John and I had to stay here to protect the kids. We can discuss this later, right now we have a more pressing matter to take care of."_

"Why should I believe you? How do I know that you aren't pretending to be my mentor and holding my daughter hostage? Tell me, 'Mina Bonteri', why I should believe you." She grabs a pencil and starts doodling on the table, one of her annoying habits.

 _"Padme Amidala, stop that doodling this instant!"_ "Mina Bonteri" snaps. _"Your voice changes when you're doodling- I can hear it a star system away. Drop the pen and listen to me."_

Padme drops the pen is shock. "Unbelievable. Only one person can tell when I'm doing that."

 _"Yes, my dear. Is that enough of a test for you? Or do you want me to announce in front of Ahsoka every embarrassing incident that happened during our lessons, like the time your pen squirted ink on your new shirt? Or when you accidentally hit "reply all" on your HoloMail? And then there was the time you wrote 'I love Rush Clovis' on all your-"_

Padme's eyes widen. "Yes! Yes, I remember, just please stop talking about it, Mina. Otherwise I may be forced to remind you of that one time when you were in college and you-,"

 _"Truce!"_ The male voice declares. _"Ahsoka's getting wound up and Mina, you know we can't have that happen."_

 _"True enough. Padme, we have to wait a few days for suspicion to die down, and then you can come and get Ahsoka. For now, you can call anytime you want. Please be aware she needs her rest- Padme, you know how I get when you wake up a sleeping person- and you can't rile her up, or she'll have a fit."_

"I understand. John and Mina, thank you for helping her," Padme replies. "Ahsoka, do what Mina tells you." She hangs up and mutters "For the love of the Force, do what she tells you."

 **(A/N: First off, I would like to thank all 108 of you and counting for clicking in today. And special thanks goes to Laugh Until You Obitine, for the lovely review! You made my day.**

 **How did this chapter go? I wanted to portray Ahsoka's reaction to her situation, and Anakin's to what has happened to her. Any reviews and constructive criticism are eagerly welcomed. Flames, however, are only good for heating my house in the winter. May the Fourth be with you all!)**


	4. Tend And Befriend

**Chapter Three- Tend and Befriend**

" _I am nothing special. Paul was a hotel manager. He will remain a hotel manager to the end."_

 _-Paul Rusesabagina_

 **AHSOKA**

"No, you are not allowed to walk." Mina says, crossing her arms.

"But I've walked before." I protest.

"Ahsoka, take five seconds, think, and remember how well that ended for you." She instructs. I do. I "conveniently forget" the part where I had a fit. "You are not walking." She repeats, scoops me up and carries me into the living room, where she plunks me down on the couch.

"John, she is _not_ to be walking. Don't let her fool you." She says and picks up her datapad on the other end of the room.

John turns off the news. "Okay. I have dinner in the oven."

"And I get to eat it, right?" I say hopefully. I haven't had any solid food since I woke up.

"If everything goes well, yes." John replies. I wrap an afghan around my shoulders. "Cold?"

"Yes, but it's not as bad." I lie. Really, I feel worse than when I woke up.

"Oh, hush." Mina chides. "You make the big innocent eyes when you lie. You always do."

I stop making the big innocent eyes. John seats himself next to me and feels my forehead. His face changes. "Hang on a second." He runs off to my room and returns with the thermometer. He sticks it in my mouth and looks at the display.

"Mina, she's freezing." He replies.

Mina looks up from her work. "What is it?"

"It just says 'low.' Why is it going down? It's not supposed to go down." John replies and walks back to his chair. "Drink some warm water and then go back to sleep."

"Mm Hm." I mumble and lie curled on the couch. Mina takes a seat where John was so she can monitor me as closely as possible. John flips on the HoloNet.

 _"Breaking News"_ a female anchor with an obnoxious voice announces. _"The fugitive Jedi is still at large. Jedi padawan Ahsoka Tano has escaped from a nearby base, and police believe she is on the loose. If she is sighted, call the number on your screen-."_

"I hate this anchor," John grumbles.

 _"Meanwhile, a search of the area is currently underway."_

Mina jumps a good two inches in the air. "Search?"

John raises his hands. "I think I can get out of it, but if we can't, we'll hide her in the attic, by the Life Day decorations."

"That's it?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

Suddenly, the doorbell rings. John and Mina share a panicked look before he bolts across the room and picks me up.

"John, remember you're supposed to have the flu!" Mina hisses before walking to the front of the house as slowly as possible.

When we reach the attic, John looks out the window. "Oh Force. It's Tor."

"Who's Tor?"

He sighs. "The one who captured you."

 **JOHN**

A few days ago, Tor entered the guard station, barking orders.

"Cooper, get me a cell assignment for this one. Bonteri, my coffee!"

Dangling from his shoulder was Ahsoka, completely unconscious. Tor slung her down from his shoulder, took a seat in one of the chairs, and set her on the floor, leaned up against his legs. I quickly poured the coffee

"Who's this, sir?" I handed him the cup and gestured to Ahsoka.

"Morning, John. This is our young Jedi friend." He said, taking a sip of coffee and patting the top of Ahsoka's head.

Without warning, Ahsoka startled awake. Blinking groggily with half-open eyes she pulled away, so confused and scared.

Tor smiled. "Oh, someone's not feeling too well." He pinched one of her cheeks, not terribly hard and more taunting than malevolent, but it was plain she didn't like it. I opened my mouth to say something about taking her to sickbay when Ahsoka shuddered and turned away from Tor.

"What's the matter, Jedi? Don't you like me?"

And then he bent down and planted a firm kiss on her cheek. Ahsoka shrieked and he just laughed, turned her head, and kissed the other cheek, laughing at her squeal like it was funny.

I'll be honest here. I didn't expect that, even from him. The private who helped me rescue Ahsoka stiffened, someone else made a quick exit, my jaw was on the floor, and Cooper opened his mouth.

"I think that's a little too far." Cooper said, growing a spine for once in his life.

"Oh come on Cooper. Like you wouldn't do the same if you had a pretty young thing like this." Tor replied. Cooper's spine retreated and I was still in too much shock to do anything when Tor lifted Ahsoka to his level, pulled her close, and grabbed her face.

"Look at me. Do you know where you are?"

Desperate, Ahsoka shrieked and pressed her palms against his chest. She may not have had words right then, but her message was clear: _get your hands off me!_

Tor shook her hard. "I don't think you heard me, Jedi. _Do you know where you are?"_

"Sir, I don't think she can speak in her condition." I piped up.

The wheels in his brain clicked, and he stopped demanding an answer. "You're in the Separatist base, girl. And you're my capture. When we're all done with you, you're mine.

"Pity you're so sick. I'll have to wait for you to get better before I sell you. Otherwise, they'll reduce the price." He sat there for a while and for a second I thought he was going to kiss her again.

 _If you try that, I hope you know a good dentist, Tor._

Tor grunted, and threw Ahsoka toward Cooper and me. I ran as fast as I did when I saw Lux try to stick a fork in an electrical socket, and caught her before her head hit the ground.

"I'll take her to sickbay." I announced.

"No, Bonteri. Cell block. Now."

"But the heat's broken…"

"I said _cell block._ If the brat's well enough to cry, she can handle a little chill. Oh, and you have guard duty." He scoffed.

Wordlessly, I gathered Ahsoka into my arms and motioned for Cooper to follow me to the cell block. On the way, I bounced her like a small child and said sweet nothings so she would realize she was away from Tor's vile grip when I noticed something.

"Cooper, you were with him when they found her, right?" I asked. He nodded, and I motioned with my chin to Ahsoka's forehead. "That's a pretty bad goose egg."

Cooper looks over my shoulder to get a better view of the swelling on Ahsoka's forehead, and his face falls. "I'm sorry, John. That's my fault. Before we got to base, Tor made me take her. I didn't have a very good grip, and I dropped her by accident. Key words: by accident!"

"That's all right. You didn't mean to." When we opened the cell door, the cold air smacked us in the face. "He is not serious." I muttered. "Look at her. She's already sick, and it's like a fridge in here!"

"Maybe it just has to warm up," Cooper said unhelpfully.

"Maybe," I sat down, still cradling Ahsoka. "Hello," I crooned. "My name is John, and this is my friend Cooper. We're going to be taking care of you today."

Ahsoka tried to push out of my arms. I couldn't blame her, I wouldn't want to be cuddled up with a soldier from the opposite side either. But it was just too cold for her to be without some heat source.

"I'm sorry. But it's too cold in here, and you're not in the greatest of shape right now. So you're staying with me." She thrashed, but I held her tight. "This is about as enjoyable for me as it is for you."

That's when the vents turned on full blast, blowing artic air into the room. I'm not sure if it was the cold finally getting to her, the realization I wasn't letting her go, or just pure instinct that caused Ahsoka to stop struggling. She went limp like a child's doll, snuggled against me, and nothing could have terrified me more. People don't give in like that unless something is radically wrong with them.

"Hush, child. Cooper, can you watch her? I'm going to fix this darn heater." I said, placing Ahsoka on her bed and trying to ignore her feeble whines at being removed from my warmth. Cooper took off his jacket and zipped her into it. I guess he felt bad about dropping her onto her head.

Of course, the heater wouldn't work for me, or Cooper, or the customer service person from the heater company. And when Cooper had to go on break because of labor laws and left Ahsoka alone for literally ten minutes, he found her bruised and extremely upset. His jacket was hanging up in the locker room with a citation from Tor about not storing it properly.

That memory only fuels my hate-fire.

"John," Tor smiles. "Mrs. Bonteri. I hope you don't mind the intrusion. We just have to search the house and we'll be on our way. You've heard the news about the fugitive Jedi, I assume."

"Oh yes, she was your capture, wasn't she?" Mina asks.

"Yes, she is." Tor replies. "Would have fetched a hefty price, too. Very few people can say they've taken the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker. It would look good on a résumé, at the very least. And she is a _very_ pretty one."

I give Mina a look like _he is a waste of oxygen._

"Anyway, it'll just be a few minutes," he waves two droids into the house, and they begin a cursory search of the rooms.

Tor walks around the foyer, dawdling in front of a framed photograph of my family, back when we were all together.

"Are those your kids?" he asks.

"Yes. The boy is Lux and the girl is Sierra." Mina replies.

"Cute kids. It's really a tragedy, what the Jedi did to them. I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," Mina turns some tears of rage into tears of sorrow, and shoots me a look like _you're right. He really is a waste of oxygen._

The droids return. "Clear, sir."

"Excellent. I'll see you tomorrow at work, Bonteri." Tor replies, turns on his heels, and shows himself the door.

When he and his flunkies have gone on to the next house, Mina grabs a pillow, holds it to her mouth, and screams into it. Then she tosses it up in the air and punches it on the way down. Twice. "He had her?" she demands. "The one sick enough to use our children to try and make us turn her in? He was the one who terrorized Ahsoka?"

"Yes," I admit glumly. "He brought her into the break room and scared her senseless." I don't go into any details for fear Mina will run down to the next house and knock Tor silly.

"I remember it,"

My head snaps a hundred and eighty degrees to behold Ahsoka standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"What are you doing, Ahsoka? You're not supposed to be walking around." Mina admonishes.

"I'm okay. Just a little stiff," Ahsoka replies. "But I remember him. He…scared me very badly." Apparently she picks up on Mina's potential fury. "Told me that I was his, and threw me. Somebody caught me, I think it was you."

"Yes. Me and my friend Cooper."

"I fell asleep when you took me to my cell. I knew that you were going to protect me." She smiles sadly. "Thank you."

"My honor." I reply, offering my arm for support. In the hallway, I lean down and whisper in her ear. "I take it you left out the…other thing…on purpose?"

"The kisses? Yes. She'd go kill him, and that wouldn't do us any good."

"Yes, she would…wait, did you say kisses? Kisses plural?"

…..

Ahsoka remembers, all right.

While Cooper was watching her, Tor relieved him so he could take a quick break. The second he was gone, Tor knelt beside Ahsoka and took her hands in his.

"These are _ice_ cold! How about I hold onto them, to warm them up?"

Ahsoka says she tried to yank her hands away, but Tor had a good grip on them.

"Soon you'll be out of here. Those lips of yours should open soon. And when that happens, your room will be much warmer. After all, we have to keep the electro-table working."

Ahsoka jerked back at the words "electro-table."

"So the table's not for you, eh? Well, good old-fashioned knives work. And we do have enough drugs of that sort. I'll just tell you one thing, Jedi: you'd better be good when it happens, and tell me what I want to know. Otherwise, you will wish I'd left you to die on that battlefield."

…

"He stopped when Cooper got back to the cell and told him he'd take over. He left, but not before he kissed me again. When he finally let go of my hands I tried to hit him, but I don't think it did much."

"You almost did a number on me. And by the way, Anakin's coming," I say. "He's on his way, and you'll be with him soon."

 _And together, Anakin Skywalker and I can go kill Tor…_

 **ANAKIN**

I hate this planet.

I just _hate_ it, in the most Jedi Code-abiding way possible. Why? The speed limit is 25 clicks an hour. I nose it up to 30, keeping my eyes peeled for police.

When I finally reach the subdivision where John and Mina claim to live, I pull out my comlink and call.

" _Ahsoka is asleep, Anakin."_ John says in a very hyperactive, probably-caf-induced voice.

"Hello, John. I need directions." I say.

" _Oh my gosh. Our subdivision is like a maze. Where are you?"_

"I am turning right on Mustafar Street." I say.

" _When you get to King Rash Court, turn left, and we're the blue house with red shutters. There's a rosebush in front, and…hey Mina, can you go hang out and wait outside for Anakin? I'll take care of Ahsoka. Thank you, you're the best…all right Anakin, you're good?"_

"Thank you. I'll be there soon." I say and hang up _._ Ten absolutely agonizing minutes of driving 25 clicks an hour and taking King Rash Street, not King Rash Court, until I finally find a blue house with red shutters and a woman sitting on the front porch.

I pull up across the street and walk over. The woman gets up and walks over to me. Her eyes have the zombie-like gaze of sleep deprivation, and she clutches a caf mug like it's the water of life.

"Hello" She says. "Do you like the roses?" She points to a half-dead rosebush in the flower garden.

"Yes." I lie. "But actually I'm here to-."

"Oh," she interrupts. "You want to see the _other_ rose! She's inside." She says, linking her elbow with mine and half-dragging me into the house. As soon as she closes the door, she lets me go. "I'm Mina Bonteri. You must be Anakin Skywalker."

"Why did you let me in the house without knowing who I was?" I ask. "For Ahsoka's sake, not to mention the bounty on your head for harboring her."

Mina huffs, picks up her TV remote, and turns on the HoloNet. The channel is set to a news station, and my face is all over it, captioned _Hero With No Fear Conquers Separatist Planet!_

The she pulls out a holo projection of me, the one Ahsoka carries.

"I recognized you."

I immediately resolve never to cross Mina Bonteri.

As we walk down the hallway, she briefs me. "She's very fragile. No loud noises, no bright lights, don't do anything that'll make her laugh or cry. If you do, she'll have a fit."

 _And I will punch your lights out,_ her force presence proclaims.

Mina pushes the door open.

And there she is.

My little angel sleeps blissfully on the bed.

"This is the best she's slept for a long time," Mina whispers. "She can feel your presence."

Not thinking, I hug her. "Thank you!" I whisper. "Thank you for taking care of her."

Mina awkwardly disengages. "It's just what parents do, Anakin. Now go get her."

I sit down on the edge of Ahsoka's bed and stroke her cheek.

"Hi, Ahsoka. I'm here."

Ahsoka stirs in her sleep and mutters something along the lines of "I'm tired."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Snips, but it's time to wake up." I say, cradling her face in my hand. "Padme wished she could come, but she was busy."

Ahsoka opens her eyes wide, and the second they see me they dance. "Master!" she shrieks, and wraps her thin arms around me. I clutch her tight to my chest, swaying back and forth, blinking back tears of absolute joy.

In the force, I feel Mina's blood pressure skyrocket. "Ahsoka, be _careful."_ She orders.

"I am," Ahsoka says blissfully.

"Thank Force you're okay." I whisper to Ahsoka, then look over my shoulder at Mina, and follow it up with "And that she was with you."

A man who I can safely assume is John walks into the room. "Anakin, I assume?"

"Yes," I say, disengaging from Ahsoka and shaking his already-twitching hand. "You're John?"

John nods and looks to Ahsoka. "Your daddy's here." He smiles a caf-induced grin. "However, if you lie back down, we won't have a situation where Daddy is called upon."

Ahsoka winces and lies back down. I adjust the covers over her. "I can take care of her. You both look exhausted."

Mina nods. "I have bags under my eyes, don't I?"

John makes a "dead" gesture, so I shake my head. "I can't sleep." he says. "I've drank so much caf that I can no longer feel my pulse."

Mina chuckles halfheartedly and walks out of the room. John sighs and plops himself down in one of the chairs. Ahsoka yawns. "So, how are the boys taking my absence?"

I think for a second. "They cry every time we watch a sitcom, they've plastered Missing posters of you in every corner of the universe, and when they heard you were okay, they had cake."

"A cake? You saved me a piece?"

"I tried, but I ate it." I joke. "It was delicious!"

Ahsoka giggles and suddenly takes in a long, sharp breath.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I ask.

John's head snaps up. "Sweetling, is it happening again?"

Ahsoka nods, yelps, and rolls over on her side. John gets up from his chair and I bend over to grab her, to help her with whatever's wrong… and a pair of arms with pink stencils wrap around her prone body and pull her close.

It's Mina. She has a bunch of gunk on her face which makes her look incredibly scary, but Ahsoka snuggles up to her while I stare in shock.

"I thought I told you not to wind her up!" Mina whisper-hisses. "John, you know better."

My mouth is open. "But…you were in the other room…"

Mina rolls her eyes. "When you leave a sick child with a man who has no idea what he's doing and another guy who's so hopped up on caffeine he can't sit still; if you hear the kid cry, you develop the ability to teleport. Simple as that. Now, I'm going to teach you how to handle this _once._ So listen up, Skywalker!"

 **PADME**

"So, this is where you all live?" Mina asks.

"When we have time," I reply, tucking the blankets further over a sleeping Ahsoka. "We're a family, Mina. Even if not by blood."

"Nothing can say you aren't, after she cried for you like she did." My old mentor comments.

"Thank you, I can't thank you enough for saving her." I reply, not taking my eyes off Ahsoka. There is not a sight in the world more precious than your child after you've been separated.

"John and I didn't know she was yours. I'm so glad somebody didn't lose their child to the war." Mina says, wiping her eyes.

At this moment, I realize the pajamas Ahsoka's been wearing don't fit her well. They're clearly meant for a boy. Lux fits that bill.

I grab Mina in a hug. "We can find them. They're together, waiting for you."

"They think we're dead," Mina sobs.

"I thought Ahsoka was dead. She is most certainly not, because a complete stranger saw her in danger, broke the law, rescued her, and took care of her. Lux and Sierra's odds are much better than that."

Mina chokes on a sob.

"Mina Bonteri, you look at me." I order. She does. "We are going to find your children. _Do you hear me?"_

Mina nods. Slowly, but she nods.

"Good. We start when Ahsoka feels better."

 **I would like to thank Laugh Until You Obitine and starwarshobbitfics for your reviews!**

 **Thank you all for reading,**

 **Lux's Sister**


	5. Actors and Observers

**CHAPTER FOUR- ACTORS AND OBSERVERS**

 **(A/N: Thank you to scottusa1 for your review, and another big thank you to Lost Lauren, MuffinPants, SnipsandSkyguy4590, Zaconator and Zackis, Legoryan4579, and scottusa1 for adding this story to their favorites list. You guys are the best.)**

Might as well say it again: If I owned the Clone Wars, then it wouldn't have been canceled. Alas, it is canceled. Therefore I don't own it.

 **Actor-Observer Effect: the phenomena in which we blame others for their actions, but see ourselves as victims of circumstance for our own misdeeds.**

" _We are all born with a powerful herd instinct and it can force otherwise rational people to act in inexplicable ways."_

 _-Paul Rusesabagina_

PADME

John pulled Anakin aside to tell him about the Tor incident. I told Mina he was going to go on a murderous rampage right off the bat.

Only a few minutes into the story, I heard "I'm going to kill that sleemo!" coming from the side room. This just goes to show how well I know my husband.

I walk over and knock on Anakin's door. "Anakin, quiet down. Ahsoka's sleeping."

Anakin and John exit, the former's face purple. "Will you two be okay with Ahsoka for a while?"

I open my mouth to ask why he's leaving, but Mina beats me to it. "Yes. Where are you going?"

"To…to that monster."

"Anakin, what are you going to do?"

Anakin blinks. "Well actually, I'm not really sure yet. But we're going to do something."

ANAKIN

I knock on the door three times. "Mr. Peter Torrance?"

"What?" some guy yells from inside the house.

"Galactic Postal Service with your package, sir." I respond.

 _"He gets packages all the time,"_ John had told me. _"He won't bat an eyelash."_

Sure enough, the door opens right up and a man in a military uniform takes the cardboard box from my hands. "Do I have to tip…"

I step into the house and shut the door behind me.

"Hello, Tor. I'm pretty sure you don't recognize me. How about I jog your memory?"

Tor points at me. "I'll have you fired for this. Get out of my house."

 _"Hello, darlin'. Let's see what we can learn today!_ " I snarl, ripping off the ridiculous postal service cap I'd pulled low over my face, and lunging forward to punch Tor in the stomach.

"S-Skywalker?"

I grab the front of his shirt and pull him close, close as John says Tor held Ahsoka. "Tell me, Tor. Where in your code of ethics does it say it's okay to beat sick young girls until they cry? Or keep them in a freezing room without food or water?"

Tor yanks his shirt from my grip, stumbling backward. "It wasn't my fault. I was just following orders!"

"Six million people died when a group 'just followed orders'." I shoot back. "Following orders isn't good enough. I know what happened, Tor. I know her guard held her in his arms so she didn't freeze to death."

I remember those feelings projected through the bond. Crippling bouts of fear and pain followed by kind words and instructions to relax and rest, often accompanied by a soothing touch.

"She's so sick, she can't sleep through the night!" I roar.

Tor coughs and straightens up. "Skywalker, please listen to me. You know Jedi are stronger than normal people. I figured it was nothing she couldn't take." He holds a hand to keep me at bay. "I know the conditions were a bit austere but we had no other facilities to handle her."

"Of course. It doesn't take much for someone to cling to a soldier wearing the uniform that had been shooting at her." I reply. "Like you said, Jedi are tough."

Tor doesn't respond. I think he knows his goose is about to be served with a side salad.

As much as I want to kill him, it would be too easy. Too easy for me to slip away from my wife and child and into the grip of something tempting and dark. Too easy a punishment for Tor. No, it would be better to let him face the pre-planned music.

"I almost feel bad for you." I say. "Because your pain is only starting."

I pop into a fight stance and punch him once in the stomach again, then in the shoulder, and finally in the back before John grabs my arm.

 _Anakin, control yourself!_

"Good, because they're going to be here soon." He nods to Tor and points at his taped-up nose. "Just for the record: this did not happen because of clone troopers. But I'm sure they'd be happy to replicate it for you."

Tor's mouth opens. "Please…I have money. You can't ignore this."

I shrug. "You did. And by the way, I know there were no orders. Command knows how to take care of high-profile prisoners. You failed."

When I walk out the front door of Tor's house, a white van pulls in. They wait for me to get in John's car before opening their doors.

Inside are the ten men of Torrent Company who drew the chance for revenge. Rex, Fives, Jesse, Appo, Hardcase, Echo, and Blitz are among them. I don't know what they'll do. They have only been ordered to keep Tor alive and to call an ambulance for him if need be. But each one of them assured me Tor will pay accordingly.

After I set the coordinates into the _Twilight,_ John turns to face me. "Anakin, are you okay?"

"I am now."

JOHN

 _Hurry with the hanging, Mr. President. Otherwise you will hang earlier than we_

 _-Erich Fellgiebel, to a Nazi war tribunal_

" _The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."_

 _-Albert Einstein_

I need to get to work tomorrow. When we brought Ahsoka to Padme's, I told Tor I had the flu. Obviously, this excuse doesn't hold up for a very long time. If I don't work tomorrow, the suspicion against me increases tenfold, especially when Mina said she had the same illness.

Anakin and Padme thank us profusely (and on Padme's end, tearfully). Ahsoka hugs each of us in turn.

"Thank you," she says. "For everything."

"Well I owed you," I reply, feeling her form just as fragile as when she was passed to me as an unconscious bundle. "Thank you for keeping Lux from choking on his stupidity!" I'm going to have a talk with Lux when I see him next. Something along the lines of _dragging random girls to different planets to join terrorist groups is not OK!_

I swear, that boy is just like me as a teenager.

When I clock in on Tuesday, Cooper waves.

"John, that flu any better?"

"Hi, Cooper. Yes, I'm all better now. Just needed a couple of days to rest."

He nods, as if he wants to rush through the pleasantries. "Boy, you've missed a lot here. The bantha poodoo just hit the fan."

"How?"

Cooper and I start to walk to our posts. "Well, you remember that Jedi girl? Some of her clone troopers got into Tor's house and beat him up. And somehow, the prison recordings got to the war tribunal." He gives me a look. "Tor's being court martialed."

Internally, I sing BEST DAY EVER!

Outwardly, I ask Cooper what charge Tor's under.

"Brutality to a prisoner." He says. "The tribunal agrees with you John. She should have gone to sickbay, not the cell block, and she needed rations, blankets, and medication until she was strong enough to be interrogated. And even then, the tribunal says that the interrogation should have been far gentler to start out than what Tor said he was going to do. And by the way, they say the only reason she lived was because of you and me." He smiles.

I return the smile. "Good job, Coop. So, have they sent in a new commander?"

He shakes his head. "No. One of us is going to be promoted!" He claps me on the back. "It's a pleasure working with you, soon-to-be-Commander Bonteri!"

I blink a few times. "Wait, what?"

"The tribunal is putting up a new commander who they say acted heroically to save the kid's life. That can only be you. I mean, you were like her guardian angel. Sitting with her all the time, feeding her, wrapping her up in that coat of yours." Cooper says. "You're a shoo-in for it, John."

"I'm not sure," I say, shrugging. "You were pretty amazing too."

If that isn't the world's biggest stretch, I don't know what is. Cooper helped, that part can't be denied, but he only did it because I influenced him. Does that count as heroism?

But he smiles, and I know I've spoken right. "Thank you."

The meeting to promote the new commander (I don't want to say "me" and sound pompous), begins in five minutes. Longest five minutes of my life. Not because I'm itching to lead, but because of one simple fact: the reason I am going to be promoted to Commander is that I didn't want someone to freeze to death.

One of the new tactical droids, Kalani it's called, takes the microphone. From my limited experience with them, the last thing these units do is waste time. This is going to be the shortest speech in the history of speeches.

"Men," it says. "The Separatist Alliance is pleased to present you with your new superior…

The men try hard not to shift their feet, like they want this over with so they can go get their caf, or go on break, or whatever.

"Matthew Cooper. Please step forward."

 _What?!_

I flinch. A staff sergeant gains an expression reading "what the Force?" Cooper, for his part, almost chokes on his own spit and turns to face me.

"Matthew Cooper, please step forward!" Kalani repeats.

I give Coop a terse nod, and he steps forward. One of Kalani's men marches down and pins the new stripes onto Cooper's lapel.

"Straighten up, soldier. You don't have any spine." The officer whispers. Cooper straightens up and follows him up to the podium.

"Dismiss your troops." Kalani orders.

Cooper gulps, and raises his hand to dismiss us. The staff sergeant next to me locks step with mine. "It was supposed to be you, Bonteri. Wasn't it?" she asks.

"Apparently not," I say dryly.

My comlink buzzes with a message from Cooper. _Take the rest of today off._

And as much as I don't want to take orders from Cooper, I clock out.

 **MINA**

" _If you saw a dog going to be crushed under a car, wouldn't you help him?"_

 _-Oskar Schindler_

As much as I would like to get looking for Lux and Sierra, duty calls in the form of my clients who apparently can't handle two days without me, John's unexpected day off, and hunger.

I was supposed to go to the grocery store the day John brought Ahsoka home, and leaving her was kind of impossible what with her panic. With an extra person in the house, we've eaten everything down to the last can of soup. And when he arrived home after the failed promotion, I figured a lunch out might cheer him up. Both of us are seriously craving hot food after eating cold everything for a week.

"So what you're telling me is _Cooper_ has been promoted for heroism with Ahsoka's case?"

John nods.

"That's foolish! You saved her life." I retort, and furiously begin to read the menu.

John decides to leave me to the decision of whether to get a sandwich or a salad. And because of his silence, the conversation from the other booth floats over to ours.

"He tried to do his job, but that little cretin just had to refuse to comply."

"But I heard it was-."

"It wasn't that bad in there," the first woman says. "She had blankets, and there was a guard in there taking care of her. All the news stories are lies. Lies of a kid who should've just curled up and died."

John looks up. "Mina, count to ten."

When people get to know me, they think I have a terribly tragic past, and that's why I'm so patient with people. Not the case. Instead, I worked at Galactic Burger dealing with meathead customers. That job has given me tremendous patience.

I stand up and look over the edge of the booth. The woman with the big mouth is Sue, Tor's "special friend." I recognize her from the staff party last year.

"Take it back." I order.

Sue stares at me. "What did you just say?"

I clench my fist. "Take. It. Back."

"Oh, I know who you are!" Sue says, pointing at me. "You're the little nursemaid, who took care of that stupid little padawan your traitor husband brought you!" She bristles. "Don't play dumb. Tor told me what happened. He said that your husband and Anakin Skywalker came in before the clones. He says John was the one who took the Jedi home to you because she was in such _awful_ condition." She rolls her eyes.

Considering John's already let the tooka out of the bag, I shove Sue's little friend further into the booth and slide in to face off with her "Sue, she was sick." I say in the intonation of a Senator/Galactic Burger Cashier.

"Tor was taking care of her." Sue argues. "She was fine. Your husband only brought her home so he could steal the glory. And of course, so you could be Mommy again and nurse her back to health." She takes a sip of her drink. "Do you really miss your children that much, Mina?"

I lean back, like I'm standing at a podium, or at my cash register. Oh, it's shocking how similar my first job, my Senatorial position, and dealing with Sue are. They all involve having to be nice and convince a person you want to throttle that you're right.

"I don't know how much Tor told you, but when I met her, that girl was close to dying." I say.

"She could bear jail."

"You already know she had been poisoned. But I have the feeling I'll be the one to say that she was being kept in a very cold cell and was bordering on hypothermia."

"Yes, all bundled up in blankets." Sue snorts. "I'm not sure if _you've_ heard, but Tor nearly smothered her in them to make up for the broken heater."

"The 'blanket' you speak of is my husband's jacket."

Sue fake-smiles. "She's a Jedi. Jedi are strong. She holds information that we need for the war. If a little chill is what it took, I'm sure she could manage."

"She was helpless!" I shout. "Anybody could see she wanted to fight back, but she begged for someone to help her and only one person did."

Sue takes a sip of her tea. "Minnie, are you sure this isn't just about your kids?" she chides. "It must have been awful to lose them to the Republic the way you did."

"This isn't about _my_ children per se, but there is one thing you have right. This is about a little girl who does not deserve to die."

Sue chuckles. "She was no little girl."

 _I want a cheeseburger, with no cheese!.. no, not a hamburger. I want a CHEESEBURGER, with NO CHEESE!...CHEESE. BURGER. WITHOUT ANY CHEESE!_

If I can keep myself from murdering No Cheese Cheeseburger Guy, then I can let Sue live.

"She is," I say, leaning across the table "And you remember this, Sue. Tor's actions are a war crime if the victim is an adult. I doubt they'll be more lenient when the victim's a child who couldn't even raise her hands to defend herself."

As much as I want to throw her tea in her face, I know when to cut my losses. I serenely (while meanwhile smoldering) walk back to my table and flag down the waitress.

"Yes, we'd like to be moved elsewhere in the restaurant," I request.

 **ANAKIN**

Padme, like all sentient beings, has a breaking point.

Hers happens to be in the form of a holo-message.

"Ahsoka was having fits all night like a colicky baby, and kept me up for 12 hours straight because you were at the Force-forsaken Jedi Temple, and when the Republic finds out Mina's alive, the Senate is going to go all to the Force." She sobs hysterically. "I can't take it anymore, Annie! Please come and help me."

What does any respectable Jedi do when his secret wife and his apprentice/adopted daughter are having a bad night? Well first, he finishes playing sabaac with Hardcase and Appo. Then, feeling like a horrible person, he goes 10 clicks an hour over the speed limit to get to Padme's house.

I flag down Dormé and ask her to please make Padme a cup of tea.

"I'm sorry, Master Skywalker, but I just sent Sabé to the market for more." She apologizes. "We're all out."

"Are Padme and Ahsoka all right?"

She sighs. "Padawan Tano was up all night. I imagine the Senator is exhausted. I offered to take care of the child for a while, but she declined."

"Oh. I'd better go check on them then." I tiptoe over to Ahsoka's room and very quietly ease open her door. My wife and child lay on Ahsoka's bed, fast asleep. I grab one of the extra blankets and spread it over Padmé, careful not to wake her. "You are the most hardcore Senator I've ever seen, you know that?" I whisper.

Ahsoka begins to stir under the covers. Using the Force, I pull her toward me so as not to wake Padme.

"Easy there," I soothe when she opens her eyes. "Don't wake her up."

"My force, I feel awful about that," she whispers. "She's _so_ tired and she won't let Dormé in."

"Well, she can rest now." I say. "Give me a second…" Using the Force, I lift Padme into my arms and take her down to our room. I lay her on the bed so _hopefully_ she won't hear if Ahsoka has a fit. Oh, who am I kidding? Padme developed Jedi-caliber Super Mom hearing long ago. She'll come running if Ahsoka so much as coughs.

"Did Lux say anything?" Ahsoka asks out of the blue when I return.

"What?"

"Lux…" she says. "I asked you to call him when you left last night?"

I facepalm.

"Master! Were you playing sabaac again?"

"It was going to be really fast, so I bet those cookies I'd been saving and then Hardcase started winning and I had to get my food back." I explain.

"We just found out that his mom and dad are _alive,_ and you got sidetracked because Hardcase won your Oreos in a game of sabaac?" she asks incredulously.

"Hey, don't worry. We can call him right now, and that way you can talk to him, too."

"I'm not supposed to. Mina was telling me stories about him as a baby, and I laughed so hard I had a fit." She says, stifling a giggle at the memory of Mina's story. "And fits hurt."

"Okay…so I'll just talk to him and say you're asleep." I say, dialing the comlink.

Out of the speaker comes the sound of a dial tone. _Talk about antique…_

"That sounds like a landline." Ahsoka observes. "Who even has landlines anymore?"

Before I can answer, a female voice breaks through with an _"Oh, for the LOVE OF THE FORCE!"_ and then the line dies.

I stare at the comlink.

"Well, that's not him."

"He has a sister. Her name is Sierra, I think." Ahsoka says. "I've never met her, but I read her messages when Lux and I were on Carlaac." She smiles. "She was somad at him. From what I've heard, she wouldn't hesitate to say something like that."

"And that girl on the line had an accent like Mina, John, and Lux. I'd say Sierra Bonteri is a pretty good guess." I point out.

Ahsoka takes the comlink, and calls back. This time, there's no dial tone, just a beeping noise.

"We'll call back later," I suggest. "You go back to sleep."

"I've done nothing but sleep for the past week." She scoffs.

"Yeah, and you're not out of the woods yet." I reply, gently pushing her into bed. "What did Padme say you were like? A colicky baby?"

Ahsoka rolls her eyes. "I think that's her sleeplessness talking."

"Yeah, and the reason she was up...?"

"…I'm just waiting for your skin to unzip, and Master Kenobi or John pop out."

I laugh. "No such luck, Snips. You're stuck with me."

 **TOR- ONE WEEK EARLIER**

 _Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer, nothing is more difficult than to understand him._

 _-Fyodor Dostoevsky_

Commander Peter David Torrance is tired of war. He's tired of his job, tired of his dead-end relationship, tired of keeping the Bonteri family's secret while the man himself is right under his nose.

So when opportunity to move from the hard-knock life to easy street presents itself in the form of a Jedi youngling rendered totally helpless, he snaps it, or rather her, up.

The Jedi Princess causing the demise of the Hero With No Fear. It has a certain appeal to it, and Tor knows it'll be his ticket out. But on the way to the prison, the girl cries out and shudders, an action so small no one but he could detect it.

Tor can't help but feel a stab of pity. _She is pretty far gone,_ he thinks, bouncing Ahsoka in his arms as if to calm her. _She could be sent to sickbay, just until she gets to interrogation._

He nixes the idea. If the girl is sent to sickbay, Tor's lousy luck would have it that her doctor would release her to interrogation without notifying him, someone else would pull the secrets from her, and he would be left promotion-less and sans bonus.

No, far better to keep her where he could keep an eye on her.

He looks over his shoulder to check that his men are still there, and his eyes catch on the girl's face. It would be sweet if Tor knew what that looked like, but it's dirty and twisted in a grimace of pain.

 _Maybe I should rethink the sickbay thing…_

He shakes his head to clear it from such a thought. But Ahsoka and her obvious ill health serve as a very constant moral dilemma.

"Cooper, I need a break," he says gruffly, needing something to take his mind off his prisoner, some time to set his conviction. He's almost convinced himself that Cooper can watch the girl in the cell block when he hears an almighty crack.

Tor spins around, and there's Ahsoka lying on her stomach, tears starting. Cooper stands over her for a second before dropping to his knees to check her over.

"That might be a concussion," he mutters.

"For Force's sake, Cooper!" Tor screams in frustration, because how dare Cooper with his incompetence damage Tor's prize. He stomps over and scoops up Ahsoka once more, this time settling her in his arms with her chin propped against his shoulder so he won't see her face even by accident.

And he has made up his mind: John Bonteri may be a fool, but he's a father and knows how to take care of kids. Tor can trust him to keep the girl alive until interrogation. A perfect fit: He will be able to supervise without wringing his hands over Cooper's idiocy possibly killing the girl.

She shudders again, but this time Tor can catch the dagger of pity before it destroys his plans. Rather, it supplies him with an idea.

 _Maybe a little chill will loosen those lips of hers…_

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

He remembers a time when he first started guard duty. His superiors brought in a boy, a mercenary bleeding from a stab wound.

"We have to do something," Tor had said. "He'll die!"

His superior grunted. "Fine then, Torrance. Fix the kid up. But you're responsible for him."

Tor wrapped the boy in blankets. He spoon fed him meals when he was too weak to do it himself. He stitched up the wound and even managed to bring medicine into the cell. He took care of him, even as his superior laughed. And day by day, the boy grew stronger.

About a week and a half after his initial capture and the onset of Tor's nursing, the boy is a little too strong. When Tor comes in to bring his meals, the boy slams the food tray against the back of his head. Knocking him out cold.

When he wakes up, the boy is gone, leaving Tor lying on the cell floor with food still stuck in his hair. His coworkers laugh at him, he's never trusted with a prisoner again until he transfers.

 _Yes,_ he thinks as the girl in his arms shrinks away in fear. _There once was a time before I knew about prisoners._

 _Don't help them. They'll only stab you in the back._

 **COOPER**

"Why me? Why have I been granted this position, when there are others more qualified?"

It's a simple question, and one Cooper's new commanding officer expected from the simpleton.

He strokes his chin. "Indeed, there is another more qualified…"

He needs not say _John Bonteri._

"But we don't want him."

Cooper looks up.

"We will mold you, Cooper," the commanding officer says. "We will mold you into the perfect commander. Just like we did with Tor."

Cooper's chest inflates. "I am not Tor!"

"You aren't," the man says. "You're better. You have the fatal flaw."

"The flaw? What flaw?" Cooper demands.

The CO examines his nails. "I'm sure you know, Cooper. Soon enough, you'll be fighting against the John Bonteris of this world. But this time, try not to fail. Just so you know, Torrance wasn't court-martialed for war crimes." He says, and ends the transmission, leaving Cooper sitting alone in his office.

 _What have I done?_ The young commander thinks, _What flaw could he possibly be talking about? I didn't hurt Ahsoka! I didn't do anything! And what does he mean, Tor's not in jail for war crimes?_

He leans back in his chair. "I'm a good man. Why doesn't he see I didn't do anything to that girl?"

Far away, the general thinks on Matthew Cooper as he closes out his workday.

"Yes. The fatal flaw, built into the sentient brain before we even came together to build cities. The flaw that allowed people to go about their daily business while crematoria belched an unmistakable smell, allowed a woman to be stabbed to death while she screamed for help, let a child be run over twice by a truck."

He sighs.

"The bystander effect. It never fails to protect violence,"

And as he looks at the paperwork on his desk.

"Or, to keep our plans secret."

 _All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing._

 _-Edmund Burke_

 **Author's Note:**

 **And that, my friends, marks the end of While Others Followed Orders.**

 **A (not-so) quick overview of some terms and allusions made during the chapter:**

 **The bystander effect is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when people do not help somebody in danger when other people are present and apparently capable of helping. Everyone think that someone else will help the person. If you are ever in danger and need to get help from a passerby, walk up to them, look them in the eye, and say "please help me." This can reduce the bystander effect by sticking them with the responsibility and making a personal connection.**

 **"Tend and Befriend", the Chapter three title, is an term used to describe a reflex exhibited by women in stressful situations. We (women) often care for others or seek social support in this kind of situation, which is reminiscent of what Mina and Ahsoka do.**

 **The CO mentions the people and the crematoria. This is a reference to the people who lived near Nazi death camps.**

 **The "woman…stabbed to death" is Kitty Genovese, who was stabbed to death in her NYC apartment complex while screaming for help. No less than 38 people heard her and didn't do anything.**

 **The child the CO mentions is Wang Yue, a Chinese two-year-old who was run over by a van. 18 people walk by as she lies in the street, and Wang is even run over again before a woman comes to her aid.**

 **Well, I actually have an announcement. We have not seen the end of John, Tor, and Cooper. Yes, there is a sequel coming, which will be titled "While Others Found Success." It will be featuring some familiar faces from the Onderon Arc, and a very dark and twisted take on what** _ **could**_ **have happened to the planet, and what the CO is talking about.**

 **Thank you all for reading this story. Your readership, and especially your review, mean a lot to me.**

 **Thank you all,**

 **Lux's Sister**


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